Cleaning and separating machine.



4PAIEII'IED MAR. 5, 1907.

A. T. HBDPELDT. 4 CLEANING AND SEPARATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 28, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 845,870. PATENTED MAR. 5, 1907.

f A. T. HEDFELDT.

CLEANING AND SBPARATING MACHINE.

APPLIOATI'ON FILED NOV. 28, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

fg, J,

.Z22/@afar AXEL Tl IIEDFELDT, or cH IcAeo, ILLINOIS, AssIeNoR To HEDFELDT COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

Specification of Letters'Patent.

Patented March 5, 1907.

Application tiled November 28, 1904. Serial No. 234,479.

To al?, weom tmf/ry concern,.-

Be it known that I, AXEL T. I-IEDFELDT, a

lcitizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county oi' Cook and State of Illinois, have inventeda certain new and useful Improvement in Cleaninfr and Separating Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to machines for cleaning and sorting granular material, and in particular to such machines adapted to be used inthe handling of coffee. As is well known, coffee-beanswhen imported are very apt to be mixed. with impurities of all sorts, suchl as stones, dirt, husks, &c. The value of the commercial product depends, of course, upon the exclusion from vthe coffee of this extraneous matter and also u on the proper sorting of the cofl'eefberries t emselves. The good sound berries are in practice found mixed with berries of lighterl weight, and consequently a oorer quality.

and also with bliglts, whic 1 areI dry dead berries of no value, and another kind called.

b1acks, which are small and heavy and bitter to the taste. The sorting of coffeeberries is therefore a very important matter 'as well as a -very difficult matter, a high grade of coffee being obtainable only when the sound full-grown berries can be separated from all the rest. This has been roven a very dillicult matter to accomplis as the ordinary tanning-mill will not accomphsh the resu1t`sought for on account, of the variety of conditions to be dealt with. In my machine by means of the force of an air-blast confinedwithin a chute of somewhat peculiar construction coperating with Athe force of gravity I am able to accomplish amore complete cleansing and gradlng of the coffee than has heretofore been possible.

I haveillustrated one form of 4my machine in which my invention may be embodied in the accompanying drawings.v I desire the drawings, however, to be taken as 1n a sense diagrammatic, for While they show one practical form of m machine it will be clear that this particular orm might be greatly changed without a departure from the scope of my invention: p In vthe drawings, Figure 1 1s alongitudinal section through the machine; Fig. 2, a crosssection on line.2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a plan view of a part of the pea-berry screen; Fig.

4, a section on line 4 4 of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 a

sectional view on line 5 5 of Fig. 3L l Like letters indicate like parts in all the drawings. i

y In order to sup ort the operating elements of my machine, I) construct a framework A of any desired form. On this framework is suitably supported an air chute or shaft B, which is preferably curved in the manner shown and may be provided at the lower end with a narrowed neck art B and at the other end may be curve over and downwardly and provided with the spout or outlet-pi e B2. The chute has a series of openings t rough which the material sorted falls from the chute into its proper receptacles. The lowermost of these openings B3, which is just beyond the narrowed portion Bl of the chute, has connection there with the s out B4. The next three openings B5 B5 B5 have shownvas discharging into an inclined trough B". Beyond these openings B5, I have shown three more B7 B7 B7, and with these are associated the s outs Bs B? B8, and further removed up the-c ute another opening B9 with the s out B1". Each of the spouts B8 is provi ed with the pipes B, which may lead to a receptacle, (not here shown',) and the pipe B11 has in each case a branch pipe B12, leading to the hop r C, the opening thereto being controlled) by the valve Bw. This arrangement of outlets is quite arbitrary and may be varied at will. ln practice the heaviest material-for example, stones-will be carried 40H through the gips B", .while the next three openings B5 B5 5 will serve to deposit theheavy sound berries, while the o enings B7 B1 B7 and B will receive berries o successively lighter weight. In order to provide for adjustment, as it were, kin the sorting, the openings B7 each have their separate outlet-pipes and are also connected with the same reccptacle-fnamely, the screen D-uponwhich the highest grade of I berries' are adapted to be delivered. While this arrangement is considered a desirable one, it is not at all essential to my invention.` It is quite ossible that under certain circumstances 1t would be advisable that the outlets B5 might each havea separate spout, so as to o crate independently.

For' the purpose o making a `finer graduation of the granular material than 'would be possible merely through the agency of the loree of gravity I interrupt. the blast of air at a succession of points along theunder side of the shaft-so that the draft will be alternately concentrated and diffused. This is accomplished by means of the inwardly? projecting parts lll li), which may be considered as forming the under wall of the chute between the successive discharge-apertures. Preferably I make these parts of perforated material, as wire-screening or the like, so as to permit thel blast of air to be gradually diminished as it'proceeds through the chute. This, however, isnot essential, and While I have shown all of these inwardly-projecting parts as composed of perforated material they might any or all be constructed solid, if desired. rWhen constructed of screens, as I prefer to make-my machine, the lower side of the chute will be composed of a series of spouts andbetween the spouts pairs or mu.

tuallyanclined screens extending in toward the upper side of the chute. The particular conformation ofthe 'under side of the 'chute is not. essentialybut'I prefer to give it thev form shown, as that is particularly well adapted for intercepting and carrying ol'l' the ma terial as it isA precipitated fromthe air-blast.l The material. to be cleaned may be intro"` duced into the chute in any desired manner. I have here shown a screen F slightly inclined from the vertical and --supportevd in proximity to the opening in the lower end ofthe chuteby means of flexible hangers F. yThis screen'rnaybeccnnected Withj a rotated shaft G-by means of an eccentric F2', so: that it may be oscillated'from side to 'sidefandit preferably discharges at itsjlower end i-nto the spout F3. The air-blast, discharges into thechute from below the screen F- through any suitable inlet, as shown at II, the. fan

wardly, and provided with an'arm Hi upon which isth'weight H5.

The screen'D is meant to receive'a'certain 'amount of .'thefproduct sorted fj The trough B, I haveshown as discharging upon this. into Which'- theproduct' through any or vall of'the'disff, charge`aperturesl B7 B1 B1 may be carried'blyfj screen, and alsothe hopper C `a proper arrangementof the-valves B13. desired, `of.'course,zonly such material .as is discharged `th-rughthe openings "B5 will be carried ontol the screengl), the rest- Of the ma terilal .being discharged 'intoy separaterecepa times. i i

L-lessbe possible.

.l atiethg othertofthesidepieces fof the'isl by means of- Which the 'further graduation of the coffee-berries vis *brought about. The screen D is preferably supported. over a hopper J on an inclined plane by'me'ans of flexible hangers D D andy is-connected byan eccentric D2 with the shaft G, so that it will be vibratcd back and forth. During this process the small black beans, which are commonly called blac ks, 'will be sifted out and pass downward through the spout J. This screen is, in ell'ect, a sieve, being formed of the sidel pieces D3, a back stripD, and a perforated bottom D5, the perforations f which are just large enough to allow the small `round blacks or other like matter to' pass through them.

From the screen D the collec-berries pass on to another screen K, composed of the side pieces K anda perforatedubottoni piece of peculiar construction, as shown at K2. This screen is also inclined somewhat from the horizontal and is supported by hangers K3 K" and may also be oscillatcd by Ameans of t/he eccentric K4, on the shaft G. By meansv of this'screen the roundl or pea berries are separated from the flat berries. This separation is effected by the peculiar construction of the bottom of the screen, detail representations of which are shown'in Figs. 3, 4*, and 5. As here shown, the Vscreen is formcdo'fga` diaphragm of sheet metal, in which are a pluralityl of transverse slits K5 K5, placed in va 'staggered arrangement. -The material around these slits is struckw-up-from the vplaneof the diaphragm in 'themannershewn .at K6 'K in the sectionalviews f'Figsh-Zi and 5 .and to fa 'height i sufficient to admit the yflat berries into lthe apertures 4K7 4K7 formed thereby, but nothigh venough to admit the round o r pea berries.

discharged vinto Aarecepta'ele through the disdischarged into the "sp-out K8. Itl Willbe The flat berries therefore pass downl 'through the screen and are clear that the precise-construction ofsthis screen might be considerably varied Without a departure from'the .scope of .my invention;-

by indenting'fjthe.materialof the diaphragm in `front -offth'e slits lor openings 'instead of event the operation 'Wou d 'be .precisely- 'the lsame, and' other such changes would doubt-l hese'conraising'vit behind V such o enin s.4 either g rizo ' shown,

through the connecting-link D, which is piv-v oted to the lug D7 on one of the side pieces D3.A This arrangement is also common to all the screens. The hopper J is sup ortei to the' Jr'rame'A by means 'of thebrac iets J J and has the discharge-s out J 2. The screen K is supported over a li e hopper L, having the spout L The chute B, it will be. understood, may be constructed in any desired form or of any preferred materiale-as, for example, Wood o r sheet metal. It may be formed of the two side strips B14. B1,with the covering B15, which I prefer to make curved,`

I havedescribed with some detail one form of my device; but it will be obvious that the particular forms and constructions might be considerably varied without .departing from the broad spirit of my invention, and therefore I do not wish-to limit myself to the articular devices and forms of apparatus ere In describing the operation of the machine I I have had particular reference to its use in the sorting and cleaning of coffee, asqmy machine is particularly adaptedfor handling this material, and, further, because the coffee is one 'of the most difficult of materials toclean and grade. Itwill be obvious, however, that the machine is equally well adapt ed for handling materials of other kinds'v Where similar conditions are met with and similar obstacles have to be y overcome.

\ Therefore it will be understood that I do not limit myself to the particularvuse nor to the details. of construction Vmade necessaryby the particulariadaptation shown.

The use and operation of my machine are asfollows: l

The V granular materials-eas, for example,"

in any desired marmer and are spread'out into a thin layer bythe slight shaking mo-A -tion of the screen. A's they reach the placeY where the air-blast passes through the'screeii they are carried upward by the blast through the chute,- together with whatever foreign material they may be mixed. If there is any very heavy materials mixed with the cofee,.

varying inversel such as 'stones'of considerable size, they will pass over the screen .unaffected bytheblast ani Will fallinto the spout F3. The mass of v the material, however, is carried. upward' through the chute and will be deposited tated` rst and will fall-down through the spout B3. Ne'xt in wei ht will be the'soundv vfull-grown berries,an:l t ese will be deposited through thedischarg'e-apertures Ds'and will constitute the coffee of the finest grade.n If

very -close graduation ofthe material isrnot` .of gravity it will immediatel -be sough tdfor, the material precipitated into any p the pipe B2.

In the process 4of, sorting the materials treated several agencies-cooperate to producel the desired effect, althou h it will not be necessary in all'cases to uti ize all of such agencies. Primarily the sorting is eiected by means of theforce of gravity against the upwardly-directed force'of the airhlast, precipitation ofthe materialtaking place at altitudes inversely proportioned to the weightf of the materialv at a succession of points, as

the gradually-diminishing force of the air-l blast exerted on the material is counterbalanced by the constant force of gravity.

In order to facilitate this action, I prefer to incline my chute from the vertical, and also to form it with a curved upper surface. The current of air will therefore be concentrated, as it were, along this curvedsurface, and with it the. mass of the material. through the rest of the chute -w1ll of course be The draft v proportionately weakened, and therefore as soon as a coffee-berry, for example, is drawn' slightly out of the main current of the force precipi-l tated downward.` Because o the mchna- IOO tion of the chute the material will fall with -eXactness through one or the other of the .discharge-apertures, according to .W'e1ght.

A second agency in the aecomphshment of.j

my purpose 1s Ithe alternate narrowing land widening ofthe chute bymeans of which the blast therethrough is alternately condensed and diffused-that is. its rate of speed increased and then slackened vWith the dif- A 'I fusion ofV the current vprecipitation of the heavier materials it contains Will take'place,

Vand this diffusion occurs successively above each of the discharge-apertures.

. To increase the preclpitation at certain y points, I may also construct my machine so" that the air-blast is gradually diminished by allowin the air to escape at successive points along t e vchute'. This is accomplished by means of erforating the inwardly-projecting tion absolutely essential.` It is not neces- 4vsary, as I have said, that all three'of the parts E I do' not consider this construcagencies I have just mentioned should cooperate in each casete get 'the result desired.4

The further sorting of the granular Imaterial-that is, that which cannot be made deendent upon the slpecific4 gravityr-is efected by means of t e screens the manner described.

It be observed that the screens E E DandKin f charge-apertures therealong and on each side` -vice for introducing the material to be sorted when usedl do not interfere with the draft of air along the curved surface at the top of the chute.- These projecting parts are, in fact, not essential in all cases, although they are useful, as above stated, andalso for the purpose of guiding the falling material into the proper-discharge-openings. The blast of air will of course l e diminished as it proceeds up the chute, even if no air were allowed to esc ape, and its propelling force upon the materials will begradually overcome by the' force of gravity. The' draft will always be concentratedalong the curved surface, holding the particles in suspension close to such surface, so long as the force of-the draft is sufficient to propel them..` The current of air will, in fact,.be deflected lfrom point to point along-the upper side ofthe chute.

1. In a device l'or7 cleaning and .sorting granular materials, the combination of a relativelynarrow chute curved or bowed from the-vertical, having a series of inclined in-A wardly-projecting screens along the under side thereof, discharge-apertuies associated with suchscreens, means for introducing the material to be sorted into the chute at its lower end, and la device for discharging a blast of air into such chute through its lower end. e

2. In a machine for sorting and cleaning granular `materials, the lcom?` ination of a curved air-chute, the upper wall of' which forms an uninterrupted continuously-curved surface,-means for discharginga blast of air upward into the chute at its lowcrend. a de at the lowerendfofthe chute, a seriesof disthereof perforated ortions of the under'wall of the chute so co ormed as to jut i-n'toward.`

the centerof the chute and thereby obstruct the falling material and conduct the same'to v'granular'v material, an air-chute comprising y an upwardly and outwardlycurved wall' of discharge devices under suchV curved wall` #for discharging the material from the chute 65. and'fmeans for introducing'the material to be 3. n'a device for cleaning and soiting granular-materials, the combination of a relatively ,narrow chute curved or bowed from the vertical havinga series of inclined inwardly-,projecting ;rnernlf` ers along the under side ofthe curvedart thereof, dischargeapertures associated) with such members, means for introducing the material to be Sorted into the chute at its lower end, and a device fordischarging a blast of air into such chute at the lower end thereof.

4. In amachine for. sorting and cleaning forming anuninterrupted continuouslycurved surface in combination with a device lforvdischar ing ablast of .airalong such surface from t e' ower end ofthe chute, a series sorted into such chute'so as to be carried up- Ward ,by such air-blast.

5. In a machine for vsorting and-cleaning granular material, an air-chute comprising an upwardly and outwardly curved wall forming an vuninterrupted continuouslycurved surface and a lower wall beneath such curved surface having a series of inward pro- Jectlons and apertures between such projections, in combination with a device -for generating a draft of air along such surface, and means for introducing the material to` be sorted into such chute so as to be carried upform a continuous uninterrupted bowed surface and its lower wall interrupted by inward projections and discharge-apertures, a device for discharging a blast of airv through such chute from the lower end thereof, and means for introducing the material to be sorted into such chute so as to be carried upward by the air-blast.

7. In a machine for sorting and cleaning granular material, the combination of a continuously-curved relativelynarrow air-chute,

having discharge-apertures along "its under side, with means for disposing the material to be treated in a relatively thin layer trans# verse to the axis of the chute so as tobe carried therethrough, and an air-blast device` discharging through such layer of material and into such a-ir- Phute.

IOO

8. In a machine for sorting and cleaning granular`A materials, the combination` of a curved or bowed chute having,-discharge-ap-v ertures along its underside,'jwith -an air-I last device discharging through the'. chute from verse to the direction ofthe air-blastxf r 9. In a machine for sortingand cleaning Vthe lower end, and Ireans for dis osing the fmaterial to be treated above suc' vair-blas t device and vin a relatively thin layer transl granular materials, the combination ofy an l air-chute comprising a curved or bowed Wall,

with a device for generating` a draft-of air along. the under or concave side of such- 'bowedvwalh'means for disposing the material so as tobe carried upward by such draft of air, and a series of discharge devices located under said bowed wall and adapted to rec eive the material -as the .draft along said wall becomes diminishedA w l 10.` Ina-'device for 'sorting and separating imaterials, "the combination of a bowedor i curved wall, means for disposing thefiiiaterial to be vtreated neart'o said wall, an air-blast device adapted; to discharge through the ma-` 'terialy so as Vto carry itupward along. and; against said wall, and means for collecting said material at different points alongand.-

under the wall.

means for collectin --saidv materialat differ- 11. In a device for sorting and separating K .ent point's along an under the Walf'."

materials, the combination of a bowed or curved Wall, means for disposing the material v 4in a relatively thin sheet or ilmnear to 'said AXEL T' HEDFELDT 5 Wall, v an air-blast device adapted to disl 'Witnesses:

charge through the material so as to carry it l 'EDWARD T. `'WRMQ upward along and against said Wall, and' PERCIVAL A. TRUMAN. 

